5:2 Friday

Welcome to 5:2 Friday!

This is a brand new linky where folk doing the 5:2 diet can share recipe ideas, inspiration, meal plans. Whatever you like. Join in, link up, make yourself at home, I’ll pop the kettle on.

This week has been pretty easy for me, as I’ve been staying with my mum. She also does the 5:2 diet and we have been supporting each other. She really helped me keep my mitts out of the chocolate box whilst we sat around the fire on Monday night. She’s a goodun, my Ma.

I tried something new on Thursday and made cauliflower rice, which I have heard a lot about recently, and got from here. It was interesting. Nice. Definitely a base for something, rather than a dry accompaniment. It would be lovely with a curry, or in place of cous cous in a tabouleh.

Fasting Day 1 (Monday)

Breakfast:

Lunch:

Naughtily skipped as we ate breakfast relatively late and by the time lunchtime rolled around, we were in the car driving up to London.

Meal Total: 0 Calories (tut tut)

Dinner:

My standard 75g portion of salmon (which works out at about half a standard fillet – Mum had the other half), (166 cals) with Green veggies. (approximately 50 cals)

I poached the salmon in a tin foil parcel with a slice of lemon on top of the fish, and served it with shredded white cabbage, leeks, broccoli and spinach, and a roasted cherry tomato.

Because I skipped lunch, I figured I had enough calories left for a sneaky glass of white wine. And jolly nice it was, too (approximately 100 cals).

Meal Total: 316 Calories

Day Total: 457 calories

Fasting day 2 (Thursday)

Breakfast:

125g of plain low fat yoghurt (76 cals) topped with 1 tablespoon of Dorset Cereal Honey Granola (I couldn’t work out the calorie information for this because maths really isn’t my forte, but I am going to assume it’s roughly the same as my home made (65 cals)

2 cups of coffee with milk and 1 teaspoon of sugar in each (104 calories). I wish I had just had the one cup, because I then had to restrict myself a little at dinner. And if there is one thing I do not like, it’s restricting myself when there is delicious dinner involved.

Meal Total: 245 Calories

Lunch:

A small bowl of tomatoey vegetable soup (115 cals approximately). Higher than my normal tomato and vegetable soup, which comes in at 87 calories/mug, but it had a handful of lentils and a potato thrown in for bulk and good measure.

that cauliflower rice is a good idea, isn’t it – hadn’t come across that before. I still didn’t try the cabbage pasta idea this week – may be next! Anyway, I added my post to the link. Thanks for organising!

I’ve seen the cauliflower rice & I was going to add one to my shopping list for this week to see if it’s as good as I’ve heard it is. This diet really makes you stop & think before having another cuppa doesn’t it..which is why I’m glad that I like my herbal teas now. I never have cereal for breakfast on a fast day as I know I would never be able to stop at just 1 tbsp!
I’ll be linking my recipes up now./..

Yes! It really is. I lose between 1 and 2 lbs a week, and I have to say it’s really easy – especially if you cook from scratch and like to be creative. Give it a go (and then join in the linky on a friday :) I find I can eat quite a lot of green veggies, and feel full, but never really too full or bloated. I also find I want smaller portions on the other days.

The 30 day shred is a 20 minute workout DVD by Jillian Michaels, who is the personal trainer on The Biggest Loser USA. She is hardcore, and the shred is difficult, but you really see results quickly. It’s 3 levels, 10 days at level 1, 10 at level 2 and 10 at 3, and each level is progressively harder. It focuses on resistance training, cardio and ab work. I love it. Its worth giving it a try (it’s on YouTube so you don’t even have to shell out for the DVD)

It looks pretty gorgeous too! The recipe was in The Times colour supplement last Saturday along with some other great looking recipes all from the 5:2 Diet Recipe Book. Not sure if posting it on here would be allowed (copyright etc) – what do you think? I’m definitely making it tomorrow for the first time so will let you know how it tastes.

It was in the middle of the magazine and it’s called “Eat”. It’s there every week but last week was a special 5:2 edition. I was so impressed with the recipes that I have ordered the book today. I bought the 5:2 cookbook (by Angela Dowden) previously and was totally unimpressed but I hope this one will be much better. I’m actually looking forward to my fast day tomorrow – only number 2 so how encouraging is that?

PS – I am happy to send you the Tikka Masala recipe in a private message if it turns out to be fabulosamondo – you may decline if it turns out to be pants!

Made the Red Lentil Tikka Masala tonight and it was AWESOME! I had a portion (218 cals) with 125g of Cauliflower Rice (37.5 cals) and a 100g grilled breakfast mushroom (15 cals) so 270.5cals in total for a really filling, delicious dinner. It was so good that my hubby, who isn’t fasting, ditched what he planned to have for dinner and ate two of the portions I planned to freeze! Will definitely make it again and have plans to adapt the basis of the curry to make a Chicken Tikka Masala for feast days. Hope you managed to find the “Eat” supplement so you can try it too.